Revenge (Batfamily) - Sequel to Brother In Arms

Chapter 16 ~ Only Human After All

Jill smiled, a warm feeling filling her body. She looked at him. His blue eyes were staring back at her and that's when she remembered. "Oh god, you... uh your mask is on the floor, boss." She looked away, blushing.

Jason looked down and saw the red domino mask lying flat next to a pillow. "Oh... Must have fallen during the night." He noticed that Jill was looking away and laughed. "Hey, it's fine don't worry." Jill looked back at him and let out a sigh. "Why are you up? Is everything okay?" he asked her.

"Yes, I just couldn't sleep anymore. I was about to get me a glass of water, do you want something?"

"Thanks but please sit down, your stitches must hurt," he frowned as he got up on his feet. Jill felt small next to him but she listened to him. He was still Red Hood after all. However, the softness in his voice reassured her without really knowing why. He walked to the open kitchen which was right next to the living room and grab the bottle of water on the counter until he turned around. "Could you tell me where your glasses are?" he smiled awkwardly.

"The cupboard on your right."

"Gotcha," Jason replied, "You have a nice apartment," he declared as he walked back to the couch.

Jill felt her cheeks heat up. "Thank you."

"No seriously, I mean it. I like how it's decorated." Jason put both the glasses on the coffee table in front of the couch and poured water in both of them. He handed one to Jill who thanked him. Jason drank and sat in silence with Jill next to him.

He had never really noticed how much her brown eyes were reflecting golden rays around her pupils. Gold against copper. He lost himself into their warmth until Jill cleared her throat and he noticed he had been staring at her. "How is Kyle, boss?" she asked. She was intimidated by the man in front of her. She would never have thought Red Hood could just... look like that. And just... be like that.

Jason straightened up. He leaned forward to grab the jacket he had thrown away the night before and reached for one of the pockets. He grabbed his phone and, as he turned on the screen, saw a bunch of texts and calls. Without reading the content of any of them, he searched for Kyle's name in the list. "He's fine apparently" he said once he found one of the latter's text.

"Boss," Jill said, her face displaying a sad expression, "I'm so sorry for what happened." She lowered her eyes.

Jason smiled reassuringly. "It's okay, we didn't get Vassili but we got Raza. Kyle got her and she's being interrogated. I'm sure that if you turn on the TV she'll be everywhere on the news. This mission wasn't a failure, Jill."

The woman attempted to lean forward a little bit but a groan of pain escaped her lips. She let her back fall against the backrest of the couch and closed her eyes. "How long is it going to take?"

"Until it doesn't hurt anymore? Probably a few days. You need rest, Jill." He was looking her in the eyes. He had piercing blue eyes with an odd glimpse of neon green in them.

She blinked "Yes, I will rest. I'll make sure to be back at the headquarters tomorrow."

Jason snorted. "No, you are going to stay here and take care of yourself for at least a week. Understood? Stitches are not to be joked around with." Jill was surprised by the sudden authority in his voice, yet she knew it was only meant to be kind. She wanted to protest but couldn't find the energy to do so. A week off would only be great. "Hey, are you hungry?" he asked her and she nodded. The man jumped back on his feet and headed to the kitchen once again.

"I'm afraid there's not much left to eat." She was surprised to see her boss open every single one of her cupboards as well as her fridge. He gathered a few ingredients on the counter.

"2 eggs, flour, milk and sunflower oil," he said proudly as he gestured to the food in front of him, "that's all I need." Jill observed astounded as Red Hood, in her kitchen, was preparing pancakes. She remained silent until the small of hot pancakes filled her nostrils, making her mouth water.

Jason knew perfectly well what he was doing. He had cooked pancakes with Alfred so many times he had no need for a written recipe anymore. He nimbly cracked the eggs to mix them with the flour and the milk, making sure to eliminate any trace of lump left. Jill really couldn't what was happening. She was brought back to reality when her boss handed her a plate with three of the most beautifully golden pancakes she had ever seen in probably her whole entire life. "Bon appétit" Jason grinned smugly.

Before Jill got time to say anything, Jason gathered all his stuff back from the floor. He put his domino mask in the pocket of his jacket. "Uh do you know where my helmet is? Oh wait nevermind." He crouched down and grabbed the red helmet from where it had rolled under a chair.

"Are you leaving?" Jill asked too fast for her own taste.

"Yeah, sorry... I have a meeting with the other lieutenants today and I'm already late," Jason apologized. He was now standing by the window, his helmet in hand. Jill didn't recall getting up and standing that awfully close to him.

He smelled like a perfect blend of smoke and books. Not old grimy books, no, but rather like ancient parchments that crisp under the touch of one's fingers on the page.

She kept her eyes low as she blinked away her thoughts, avoiding any eye contact with him. She cleared her throat and awkwardly bit the inside of her cheek. "I... I wanted to thank you," she declared with a low voice.

"What for?" he replied in an equally low voice. Jason was trying so hard to control his breathing rhythm. He was towering over her so he hoped she wouldn't notice how jerky it was. Or she had probably already noticed.

"For rescuing me at the warehouse..."

"I wasn't going to abandon you, Jill."

"Still... You didn't have to."

"No one gets left behind. Especially not my best fighter, right?" he laughed softly.

Jill bit her lip and found the courage to look at him in the eyes. "You could have gone and interrogated Raza yourself. But you stayed. Why?"

Jason swallowed. "I told you, I wanted to keep an eye on you in case you needed something." His heart was pounding irrationally fast in his chest now.

Jill replied with a nod and a smile. "You should go," she told him softly, "they won't be happy to see how late you are."

He snorted "Hey I'm the boss, am I not?"

Jill laughed, "You sure are, boss."

Jason grinned at her before he slipped his helmet on his head. He opened the window which would lead him directly to the fire escape stairs. He was about to leap down when he stopped in his tracks and turned his head to look at Jill. "Jill, it's Jason for you." And with that he was gone, leaving a dumbfounded Jill behind him. 

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Sooooo, after months of absence, here's a chapter. I know it's rather short but I seriously plan on getting back to writing because I have recently noticed that it really helps my mental health. 

I hope you enjoyed it :)